Perfect footwear for trucks and buses

The MAN partner CO2OPT recommends fleet operators the best tyre for trucks or buses with the help of vehicle and other external data. This can save up to ten percent fuel.

Portrait of Benjamin Bartsch — Tyre expert: Benjamin Bartsch helps companies to find the right tyre from thousands of models.

If Benjamin Bartsch is to explain the idea behind the start-up CO2OPT, he is happy to use comparisons: "You don’t go to the beach with high heels or flip-flops in the mountains. And just like with shoes, the right tyres for the respective movement profile are also important for commercial vehicles." Bartsch is familiar with the matter, after all, he worked for a long time at tyre manufacturer Continental and experienced there that the tyres often did not fit into the everyday life of trucks and buses in practice. No wonder: The offer is huge and non-transparent. That’s why no fleet operator has a chance today to make the perfect choice for every single vehicle in their fleet from thousands of models.

An image of what the Rio box looks like – very compact and in rectangular form — Data supplier: The RIO box transmits movement information for each vehicle.

This is exactly what Bartsch and his two co-founders Frank Seeger and Siddhant Tibrewal want to change. CO2OPT was founded in 2022 and offers fleet operators a data-based platform for tyre management. The idea behind it: Using real telematics data from the vehicles – supplied by the RIO Box, for example – the start-up determines the individual movement profile of each bus in the fleet. For this purpose, software analyses up to 21,000 data points per day and can divide the vehicle into a specific class after a few months. Based on this information, CO2OPT then recommends suitable tyres for each individual member of the fleet. "This is like Tinder for tyres," Bartsch draws the next comparison. A database with more than 5,000 different products is used.

The three founders — Entrepreneur (from left): Siddhant Tibrewal, Frank Seeger and Benjamin Bartsch founded CO2OPT in 2022.

The tyres decide on electrification and range

"With the right tyre for the individual routes, a diesel-powered bus saves up to ten percent fuel and avoids many CO₂ emissions accordingly. This is compounded by falling abrasion," says Bartsch. "In addition, the tyre service life can be extended, which also contributes to decreasing TCOs." Finally, the CO2OPT software also supports fleet operators in the topics of "retreading" and "re-cutting of tyres". For electrically powered buses, the focus is less on costs or CO₂ emissions. "What is more important here is the range increased by 30 or 40 kilometres due to optimum rolling resistance," says Bartsch. "This means that the tyres can actually decide whether a line can be electrified or not."

MAN professionals and CO2OPT staff talking to two monitors at Bussworld — Partners: CO2OPT performed together with MAN at the Busworld trade fair.

CO2OPT has been working with the bus division of MAN since 2022. "We got to know each other at the IAA and found each other very quickly," reports Bartsch. "Most recently, we performed together at the Busworld trade fair." MAN customers can easily book the start-up’s offering on the RIO Marketplace under the name "MAN Tyre Service powered by CO2OPT". With just a few clicks, the connection between your telematics provider and the CO2OPT database is established, after which data such as speed, acceleration and braking processes, fuel consumption and the current location are automatically determined.

CO2OPT supplements it with further information such as altitude profile, road types, weather conditions and tyre specifications. Among other things, predictions of tread depths and recommendations for the next tyre model are derived from this. Customers can submit a tyre service to CO2OPT in several ways: via their tyre service provider, via the start-up’s workshop app or by providing their own service report.

Also interesting for logistics

Logistics companies also benefit from the innovative range: According to CO2OPT, tyres affect more than 40 percent of the total cost of ownership (TCO) of freight forwarders – especially diesel expenditure. Trucks can also divide the company’s software into categories such as "long haul" or "distribution transport" based on telemetry data. This is followed by a recommendation for optimum tyres. "Even if the optimal tyres are a little more expensive to buy, they still pay off over their service life," says Bartsch. And they contribute to climate protection, as around 60 percent of the CO₂ emissions of road freight transport are caused by medium-duty and heavy trucks.

Screenshot of the CO2OPT system showing that with the right tyres, €49,088, 70 tons of CO2 emissions and €39,900 in fuel costs can be saved — Forecast: CO2OPT calculates how much money and carbon dioxide a customer can save with the right tyre.

In the future, CO2OPT wants to automatically provide its customers with warnings – for example, due to insufficient tread depths – and offer the optimal replacement tyre for sale in a marketplace. "However, we will remain neutral and always recommend the best product," emphasises Bartsch. Another new feature is planned for 2024: CO2OPT then wants to certify its customers for their CO₂ emission savings determined in accordance with the DIN standard. "The tyres are the only contact between the vehicle and the road," Bartsch summarises. "That’s why the optimal selection is important. Let us make one thing clear to fleet operators: A tyre is much more than just black and round."

Text: Christian Buck
Photos: MAN/CO2OPT

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